Variety (April 1953)

Wednesday, April 22, 1953 PICTURES 21 Big Grossers Continued from page 3 in the XT. S. and Canada,, in its first release playoff. Some theatre- men in N; Y* and New Jersey say the Disney film is bettering Metro's giant of last year, “Quo Vadis,” at the'-b.o. ‘Salome' Ahead Columbia’s “Salome,” now start- ing out, so far has been running ahead of the same company’s “The joison Story.” Latter has the money-making crown at Col with a domestic gross of $8,000,000. Since “Salome” has played only about 40 dates as of now, final fig- ures can’t be predicted. But en- couraging Col is the fact that the Rita Hayworth starrer has been exceeding the “Joison” pace in initial bookings. Samuel Goldwyn’s “Hans Chris- tian Andersen,” which, like “Pan,” is an RKO release, likely will reach a take of $5,000,000, on the basis of its b.o. showing in the majority of key cities. Danny Kaye entry has shown remarkable hold- over strength, being now in its 22d week, for example, at N. Y.’s Criterion and Paris Theatres. ‘'Moulin Rouge,” Jose Ferrer starrer, is the smash , money pic on United Artists’ sked. John Hus- ton production, a powerhouse in key situations, will hit $5,000,000, or higher, unless it does an unex- pected nosedive in subsequent runs. Paramount’s “The Stooge,” Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis comedy, fig- ures in the boxoffice sweepstakes via a gross of about $3,800,000. The Hal Wallis production is run- ning slightly under Martin & Lewis predecessors films, but it’s still a plenty hot item. Wallis, inci- dentally, has another in the golden circles of b.o. charmers which have an indicated gross of $3,- 000,000 or over. This is “Come Back, Little Sheba,” with Shirley Booth and Burt Lancaster, the adaptation of the Broadway legiter. Pic had been heading for a gross of about $2,500,000 or $2,- 700,000. However, the Academy Award for Miss Booth, and at- tendant publicity, are boosting the income to the $3,000,000 mark. Based on coin rolled in to date, 20th-Fox’s “Call Me Madam,” which has been picking up in- creased b.o. steam as it moves into hinterland circulaton, figures to gross $3,500,000. Thus,, the Ethel Merman - George Sanders- Donald O’Conner-Vera Ellen show is the outstanding musical comedy among Hollywood’s ..crop of cur- rent big hits. It’s too early to tell on the 3-D newcomers, but so fat the pros- pects are fine. Paul Raibourn, Paramount v.p., told a meeting of Wall Street stock workers last week that Warners’ “House of Wax,” in its first scattered dat- ings, has been matching the b.o. power of Par’s blockbuster, “Great- est Show on Earth.” “Wax” has opened only in a few spots in Texas, Florida and .N. Y. New York Theatres —RADIO cm Millie HUU Rockefeller Center ALAN . JEAN . VAN UDD * ARTHUR # HEFLIN in GEORGE STEVENS’production of “ShanS” color by TECHNICOLOR • A Paramount Pictur* H SnCTttIUI STMC nUOfUDM natural VISION 3 DIMENSION , mranniK "MibEjn-fAiut mi ■- - » - - WANTED: All sizes and types of Western Stage Coaches, Wooden Horst* and Ponies, Mail photographs, availability and prices, e/o Art Director, James Melton Autorama, HypoluXo, Florida. WANTED EXPERIENCED THEATRE MANAGER H, SCHOENSTADT A SONS HIS S. Michigan Avo. ’ Chicago 5 , 111. HArrlson T-3OT4 Other 3-D’er is Col's “Man in the Dark.” If it could maintain its present pace, “Man” could rack up a gross of $2,500,000, excep- tionally big for a limited budgeter. Problem facing the distributors of these first-to-mafket depthiesis the limited number of theatres equipped to show them. William Heineman, United Artists v.p., who has been handling “Bwana Devil,” estimates 1,200 houses will have been retooled for 3-D show- ings by the end of next month. When a more substantial number can project that added dimension, the initial 3-D'ers probably will be faced with competition from other pix in the same pattern Which are now r in production. “Bwana,” incidentally, now looks to gross about $4,000,000. Cinerama Chi Bow Continued from page T Detroit conversion cost. For the first time, projection booths will be suspended from the balcony. In the other cities, they’re at the rear of the orchestra, necessitating the removal of seats. There’ll be 1,500 seats at the Palace. In New York the original instal- lation at the Broadway Theatre hit as high as $80,000. New installation at the Warner Theatre, to which Cinerama moves in June, will prob- ably be in the $50,000 bracket. Company is in the process of closing deals in other cities, with Boston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Dal- las and Philadelphia high on the list. An announcement of another confirmed deal is expected later this week. Screen at Warners Hollywood Theatre will be 27x72 feet as com- pared to the 22x64 screens that heretofore hive been standard equipment. Cinerama is goin& all out on its bally effort for the April 29 preem. Tlx demand has been so great it’s staging a second preem the follow- ing night. NBC will exclusively tel- evise the opening proceedings. In addition, three local radio outlets will broadcast the event. Company is saturating TV and radio with 430. spot announce- ments. Forty-eight television ap- pearances have been arranged for, using board veepee Lowell Thomas, co-producers of “This Is Cinerama” Merian C. Cooper and Robert L. Bendick, exhibition head Kaufman and other top members of the com- pany. It has sent out 25,000 brochures to Philharmonic and Hollywood Bowl patrons, along with 35!000 post cards mailed from New York. Anti-Snipping Continued from page 7 Nft-BIAS THEATRE TV ROLE SOUGHT BY AVC The American Veterans Com- mittee, in a statement filed with the Federal Communications Com- mission last week, asks that any theatre television service to be es- tablished “should be conditioned on the agreement by each theatre owner that he would not exclude from his theatre, solely on the basis of race, color, religion, an- cestry or national origin, any per- son seeking admission thereto.” The veterans outfit says the FCC should not permit the Government to become, a party to such dis- crimination, “as it might if safe- guards werb not written into li- censes, allocations and other orders dealing with the use of television in theatres.” Hallmark to Release , 2 Zugsmitk Pix Yearly Hollywood, April 21. Kroger Babb’s Hallmark Produc- tions made a deal to distribute two A1 Zugsmith productions a year, starting with two Lili St. Cyr starr- ers, “Female of the Town” and Girl of the South Pacific.” Meanwhile Zugsmith will keep on producing for other release outlets. Columbia will release his “The Great Green Og,” slated for an August start. Cannes Film Fest Continued from page 2 Hot Summer Product Continued from page 7 without specific guides. He further ridiculed specific cuts made in films which drew attention, “made things more offensive” and dis- torted the meaning. He defended the Johnston code as an industry policing itself like a copy desk polices a newspaper; which, is not censorship. Graman Marks, Cincinnati at- torney, pointed out that the pre- ponderant weight of court deci- sions piling up makes it clear that sooner or later the Ohio law will be thrown out and said “I don’t think the stigma of this thing should be left on the books.” He also charged the censor board with capricious cuts and bans and defined censorship as meaning “what the censor doesn’t like at the time. Change membership in board and there follows a differ- ent censorship emphasis.” Also testifying were Mrs. Wil- liam R. Thomas, Cleveland, repre- senting the Ohio Federation of Women’s Clubs, and William Wol- fert, director of Audiovisual edu- cation, Canton, who spoke as a private citizen. Author Louis Bromfield was represented by a written statement in which he de- clared: “I .know of no citizen of Ohio, including myself, who.I feel is of such impeccable moral stand- ards, judgment, intelligence and education that he is qualified to tell other citizens what they should or should not see.” Three more proponents will be heard this afternoon (Tues.) and witnesses opposing repeal will" be heard next Monday (27) night. with main tale one of men in fear and action. Opening midnight party followed “Fear” with dinner at the Ambas- sadeurs. On tap were Anne Bax- ter, Olivia de Havilland, Roxanne, Michele Farmer, Orson Welles, Ed- ward G. Robinson, Kirk Douglas, Sidney Chaplin, Anatole Litvak, Dany Robin, Ed Trzcinski, Kurt Frings, Arletty, Jean Cocteau, Magali Vandeuil and a host of oth- ers from various countries. Though fest is well organized, on the whole, with invitees quickly booked into their hotels, there has been some friction between delega- tions. Italo delegation was peeved when their two important entries did not get night spots for show- ing. Vittorio De Sica pic, “Sta- zione Termini,” with Jennifer Jones and Montgomery Clift, got a* night slot, but “La Provenciale” was given short shrift in an after- noon spot, Italians felt that they had given night projections for all French pix at Venice last year and deserved the same here. A Robinson Insists on ‘Marshall’ Cat Spain cut a few scenes from “Bienvenue, Monsieur Marshall” (“Welcome, Mr. Marshall”), which is a light-hearted satire on the Marshall Plan and America tour- ists in Spain, at insistence of Ed- ward G. Robinson, one of the fes- tival judges. On the other hand, Alan Resnais, who made a short Gallic pic, “Stat- ues Die Like That,” refused to make cuts demanded by the fest committee, and pic was refused. It seems that the film blasts certain aspects of French history and cus- toms. Pic has been sent here secretly and may be shown secret- ly. Cannes police are on the look- out for the clandestine copy. American stand here, run by the Motion Picture Assn, of America, gives out documentation for pix to all scribes. However, MPAA has still to take a note from other entries. Most countries have fine eye-catching brochure and photos from entered pix and of important national film celebs. Continental managers feel that this is due to the other countries being under government grant and being able to give greater participation. They feel that the U. S. delegation should take a greater part in pro- ceedings. However, fine U. S. pix selection and celeb turnout is heartening this year, and will pay off accordingly in prestige and pub- licity. Pix entries also include the Swedish “The Ardent Loves of My Youth”; Japan’s “Story of Buda”; Yugoslavia's ♦’Equinox”; U. S. “I Confess” (WB) and “Peter Pan” (RKO; Finnish “Le Renne Blanc”; Belgium “Bongolo”; French “Horizons Sans Fin”; Aus- trian “April 1, 2,000”; Japan’s “Children of Hiroshima”; U. S. “Lili” (M-G); Italo fulLlength doc- umentary, “Magia Verde,” and French “Les Vacance De Monsieur , Hulot.” projection systems. The ozoners place in the new 3-D and wide- screen era is still unclear, but indi- cations are that they'll go slow in retooling,, depending on their con- ventional appeals rather than on new screening gimmicks. One thing is certain, however, more and more ozoners will be competing and bid- ding against" conventional houses for top first-run product. Metro Lineup Metro’s lineup for the summer season includes an Esther Williams Technicolor musical, “Dangerous When Wet,” a Marge and Gower Champion-Debbie Reynolds starrer, “Give a Girl a Break,” “The Big Leaguer,” a baseball yarn with Ed- ward G. Robinson and Vera Ellen in the leads; “Main. Street to Broadway,” M-G release of the ex- hib-backed Lester Cowan produc- tion for the Council of Living The- atre; “Band Wagon,” starring Fred Astaire, the film version of the Howard Dietz-Arthur Schwartz mu- sical hit of 1930, and “Dream Wife,” starring Cary Grant. In addition, Metro’s first 3-D entry, “Arena,” a western, will be in cir- culation, although officially going into release in June. Warner Bros, slate includes “The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms,” a science fiction yarn obtained from an indie source; “South ^Sea Para- dise,” Burt Lancaster-Virginia Mayo starrer; “A Lion in the Streets,” with a cast headed by James Cagney; “Thunder Over the Plains,” a Randolph Scott oater; “So This Is Love,” the story of Grace Moore, starring Kathryn Grayson, and “Master of Ballan- trae,” adventure pic with Errol Flynn. Warners, too, will be offer- ing a 3-D film, “The Charge of Feather River,” the company’s sec- ond entry in the depth parade. Columbia’s contribution to sum- mer fare features “Let’s Do It Again,” the musical remake of “The Awful Truth,” starring Jane Wyman, Ray Milland and Aldo Ray; “The Last Posse,” a Broderick CrawforcF-John Derek actioner, and Stanley’s Kramer’s “The Wild One,” starring Marlon Brando. Col will have a 3-D film in its own Vitascope process, “I Ride Alone,” starring Randolph Scott. Solid 20th .Sked 20th-Fox, although abandoning the conventional flats for Cinema- Scope, will have a solid lineup of 2- D films, including “White Witch Doctor," starring Susan Hayward and Robert Mitchum; “The Glory Brigade,” with Victor Mature; “The Kid From Left Field,” with Dan Dailey; “The Farmer Takes a Wife,” a Betty . Grable musical; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” star- ring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Rus- sell, and the English-made “Sailor of the King.” Slated for release during the period is 20th's initial 3- D (polaroid-type) film, “Inferno.” Besides its 3-D “It Came From Outer Space,” Universal will pre- sent “Thunder Bay,” a James Stew- art starrer; “Francis Covers the Big Town;” “All I Desire,” a drama with Barbara Stanwyck; “The Great Sioux Uprising,” starring Jeff Chandler; “Abott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” and “Forbidden,” starring Tony Curtis and Joanne Dru. From the J. Arthur Rank org, Universal will release “The Cruel Sea,” based on the recent bestselling novel. United Artists has one of its heftiest lineups in years with “Re- turn • to Paradise,” starring Gary Cooper in the filmization of the James Michener yarn; “The Moon Is Blue,” with David Niven, Wil- liam Holden and Maggie McNamar- ra, in the film version of the cur- . rent Broadway hit; “Melba,” star-! 1 Jerry Lewis, and “Arrowhead,” a major western starring Charlton Heston. RKO’s hot weather slate is also on the bullish side. It features “She Had to Say Yes,” a Robert Mitchum-Jean. Simmons starrer: “The Sword and the Rose,” a Walt Disney live-actioner made in Eng- land, and “The Sea Around Us,” the Academy Award-winning doc- umentary. Company will also un- veil its first 3-D film, “Arizona Outpost.” * Producers Guild = Continued from page 3 grams. Growing trend towards units and packages was also dis- cussed, with most producers feel- ing that the studios are not likely to eliminate accepted formula of contract or supervisory producers yet, although most will go along with unit ideal on participation if the producer is strong enough or can get together the right combina- tion of story, stars and director. IT’s 3-Week Hiatus Hollywood, April 21. Universal will be idle for a three-week period upon the finish of “Wings of Hawk” around May 10 when no new pix will be rolling. Definitely slated to start is “Border River,” Joel McCrea, starrer, and “Glenn Miller Story,” James Stewart starrer,, on June 3. Studio has 24 writers working on as many scripts. By the time the hiatus starts May 10 U will have 32 completed shooting scripts ready* including “River” and “Miller.” C0MP0 Tax = Continued from page 3 Red Buttons and that’s why they* are so highly paid.” Col. H. A. Cole of COMPO admitted “there has been extravagance, but it’s almost impossible to stop those bad in- creases.” Later Rep. Wayne L. Hayes (D., O)., was testifying, 'and said the trouble witfi the picture business might be that the theatre prices, were a little too high, and that the quality of motion 'pictures has fallen off. “If there were better quality pictures, it would help the industry some,” he said. Immediately Rep. Cecil R. King, of Los Angeles, a member of the Ways and Means Committee, jumped into the fray with the challenge: “In what way are you qualified to determine the quality of pic- tures?” “I am speaking as one person,” was the answer. “And I do not stand alone in that position.” 4- “ ~ — STARS’ CARS X-COUNTRY I J J 9 9 ring Patrice Munsel in what UA sees as the female “The Great i Caruso,” and “Crossed Swords,” an Errol Flynn actioner. Paramount, too, is offering a j strong slate in “Houdini,” with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh; “Stalag 17,” starring William Hold- en, in the filmization of the recent Broadwr.y hit ;“Botany Bay,” an Alan Ladd starrer; “War of the Worlds,” a. science fictioner based on an H. G. Wells story; ‘The Cad- die,” starring Dean Martin and Going from B'way to Hollywood, or vice versa? "The Best Way” is to ship your car, not to drive it, advises Judson Freight Forward- ing Division of National Carload- ing Corporation, now celebrating its 75th anniversary. Judson has shipped thousands of cars and trunks for stage, screen, radio and TV celebs. You save wear and tear on you and car. actual driving costs, storage enroute, and expenses in- volved in the long trip. Besides, you have much better chance of arriving in one Diece yourself if you take rail or air and let Jud- son ship your car and belongings. I I I If your trial engagement either coast extends Into on a solid spot, just call Judson and have your car shipped to you. See your telephone directory for nearest National Carloading Of- fice or write to: Judson Forward- ing, National Carloading Cor- poration, 19 Rector Street, New York 6. N. Y. 3D VIEWERS No necessity for shortage. Our productive capacity millions weekly. We made them as far back as 1924. Also 30 ads for press books, 3D Inserts In publications, complete witfc glasses, lobby viewers. FREEDMAN DIE CUTTERS. Inc. Wm. A Freedman, President 285 Lafayette St.. New York City fkoae: WOrth 2-211»